Towards
Gender Equality
in Film Production
Efforts to achieve gender equality are often met by
arguments and explanations as to why it simply isn’t
possible. At the Swedish Film Institute, we believe
that efforts have to be made at a range of different
levels. Our strategy is therefore to meet every
argument with an action. Each challenge with a
constructive suggestion. The Film Institute’s aim is,
by the end of 2015, to have achieved equality in film
production in Sweden. What are the strategies and
goals in your country?
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are very few competent
» There
female filmmakers. «
No, we disagree. There are plenty of competent women
making film. However, those women are not visible enough.
This is why we are setting up a web site to make female
filmmakers in the Nordic region visible, from the early
days of cinematic art up to the present day. The site,
which will be called Nordic Women in Film, was an initiative of the Swedish Film Institute and is a collaboration between the Nordic film institutes and researchers/
writers from each country.
2
don’t get to make their
» Women
second and third films. «
Yes they do. But it is hard for women to get the chance to make
their second and third films. They have a far harder time than
men finding business partners and financiers. It’s also hard
to create a strategy for getting established in the industry.
We have therefore started the mentor and change programme Moviement. The first programme begun in 2013
and consists of five well-established female feature-film
directors and ten women who to date have each made
one feature-length fiction film. The programme is a
leadership and strategy course which aims to empower
female directors in taking their film ideas through the
funding labyrinth to finished film.
»
3
Counting the percentage of women as
compared to men doesn’t lead to equality.
«
As a funding institution, the Film Institute is of crucial
importance to what films get made in Sweden. Decisions on
who receives funding are founded on an overall assessment.
We systematically monitor how many films with men and
women in key positions receive funding over time, and we
May 2013
are absolutely convinced that this makes a difference. The
gender equality perspective will now be an even more
important part of our day-to-day work. We are therefore
intensifying the ongoing monitoring of our funding, so
as to reveal the structures and thereby identify working
approaches that help create a gender equal film industry.
young filmmakers spend their time, such as education
establishments, competitions, film festivals, regional
talent development and film camps.
5
4
in power have no desire
» Those
to see things change. «
Yes there are. Many young women want to become directors.
However, there is a vast difference between the attitudes
of young women and men dreaming about a career in the
world of film. We are therefore developing initiatives to
highlight role models and mentors for young women
who show an interest in the film profession in their
teens. We are also starting up several projects with the
aim of strengthening equality long-term in areas where
One in five feature-length fiction films released at the cinema
in Sweden is made without funding from the Film Institute,
and we cannot affect those films. Responsibility for the goal
of equality in film production therefore lies both with the
Film Institute and with the film industry as a whole. At the
Swedish Film Institute we are convinced that the desire to
change exists, but more knowledge is always needed. We have
therefore started up a research project with the Swedish
Film & TV Producers Association and researchers from
the Royal Institute of Technology/Fosfor to study the
structures that exist within the industry.
aren’t as many young women as men
» There
who dream of becoming a film director. «
What are you doing?
The Swedish Film Institute is tasked by the Swedish government to implement film policy in
Sweden. We strengthen Swedish film at every
stage by supporting the production of new films,
distributing and screening films of value, preserving
Sweden’s film heritage and making it accessible, and
representing Swedish film at an international level.
www.sfi.se/genderequality